Crooklyn House Seeking $4.5 Mil Buyer In Bed-Stuy: Report

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — From ‘Crook’ to Look (at these beautiful period details)!

The Bed-Stuy home, which served as a main setting for Spike Lee’s semi-autobiographical 1994 film Crooklyn, is now on the market for any deep-pocketed movie buff, reports Brownstowner.

Over the past decade, the home has been restored as a single-family mansion, replete with extensive period details, including four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, restored brass fixtures and stain glass appointments, a gorgeous garden-level kitchen and — what every Brooklyn brownstone needs — a private speakeasy-type bar in the basement, according to the listing.

Even more decadently, the more than 4,500 square-foot home has central air conditioning.

Built in 1874 by renown architect George P. Chappell, whose distinction is remarked upon in a decade-old Brownerstoner column featuring the building, the building has passed through few hands. It was last sold in 2013 for $1.7 million from David Conyers, owner since 1999, to Alright, Already LLC, according to City property records.

The sale, $400,000 over the asking price, was considered a sign of a Brooklyn housing bubble, according to reporting from DNAinfo, as the famous address also needed extensive work.

Operating for much of its modern life as a two-family home, it was converted to exclusively house one lucky family in 2014, as it underwent a $128,000 renovation, according to records from the Department of Buildings. For a brief period, it operated as a bed and breakfast, according to Brownstoner. In 2020, City records show that the building was landmarked.

During the renovation process, the building managed to rack up a few DOB violations along the way, mostly for violating stop work orders.

But one violation ominously hinted that an unapproved excavation, most likely to create the ethereal personal speakeasy, “may cause the building to collapse,” according to the DOB. Luckily for the future occupant, it’s still standing.

In all, the building racked up nearly $20,000 in DOB violations. That’s only around 2% of the down payment. With mortgage interest rates reportedly rising above 6%, whoever has the cash for this gorgeous home is probably putting down a lot more than a plebeian 20%.

What’s clear though is that it probably won’t house a working-class family of seven like the Carmichael’s from the film that made 7 Arlington Place famous.